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Chapter 2 Thinking About and Researching the Social World

Classical Sociological Theory

• What is a theory?

• Theory: “A set of interrelated ideas that have a wide range of application, deal with centrally important issues, and have stood the test of time” (Ritzer, 2016).

▫ Theories condense concepts in order to organize the social world

▫ Sociologists use theories in order to identify and frame ideas

Influences on the Emergence of Sociological Theory

• The Industrial Revolution

• Political revolutions (French and American revolutions)

• The rise of socialism

• The civil/women’s rights movements

• The growth of science, the replacement of faith by science

Early Theorists • Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

▫ French philosopher

 Originally termed his studies “social physics” he eventually coined the term “sociology” to distinguish his work from others.

 He believed sociology could use science to understand, predict, and control human behavior for the welfare of humanity.

 The “Religion of Humanity”

 Tenets: altruism, order, progress, introduction,

admission, destination, marriage, retirement, separation, incorporation

Early Theorists • Harriet Martineau (1802–1876) ▫ Born and Educated in England

 Credited with bringing sociology to England

 Argued that sociologists must focus on all aspects of society  Including women

 First to look at issues such as marriage, children, domestic and religious life as well as issues of race

 Argued that sociologists must do more than just observe, but should also act in ways that benefit society

 Was active in the women's rights and emancipation movements

 Wrote Society in America after extensive travels in the 1830’s

Early Theorists • Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) ▫ Primarily interested in the root cause of social change, specifically evolution in

the physical, intellectual, and social domains.

▫ Was a polymath  Philosopher, biologist, anthropologist, and political theorist

▫ Coined the term “survival of the fittest”  Believed privileged members of society earned their status and

thus a higher quality of life

 Government should not interfere with improving life chances of individuals – against the natural order

The Big Three • Karl Marx (1818-1883) ▫ German – born to the middle class

▫ Macro-theorist who focused on the structure of capitalist society

▫ Defined capitalism as an economic system based on the bourgeoisie (the owners of the means of production) exploiting the proletariat (the workers).

 Wrote in conjunction with Fredric Engles

 The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital

The Big Three • Karl Marx (1818-1883)

• Concepts from Marx ▫ Capitalism as a system based on exploitation

▫ Workers also experience alienation on the job

▫ False consciousness – an erroneous set of beliefs

▫ Class consciousness – a set of beliefs about an individual’s social positioning

• Theorists have built on his work and others have created theories opposing his work

The Big Three • Max Weber (1864-1920) ▫ German born

▫ His principal work is The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism written in 1905

 Was interested in the idea of rationalism

 Social structures are replaced by more direct or efficient ones

▫ For Weber, rationalization has negative consequences as well; particularly creating what he called an “iron cage.”  Guided by efficiency rather than ethics

The Big Three • Emile Durkheim (1858–1917) ▫ French born

▫ Macro-theorist whose major concern was social facts, such as

social structures and cultural norms and values, that impose themselves on people

▫ Called the shared beliefs of a society the collective conscience.

▫ Wrote the book Suicide in which he stated that the cause of suicide was not to be found within individuals, but rather in social facts.

Early Theorists • W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963) ▫ American born – Grew up in Massachusetts

• Pioneering researcher who was crucial to the later focus of sociology on race

▫ Wrote The Souls of Black Folk and Black Reconstruction in America

▫ Popularized the idea of the “color line”

▫ Also espoused the idea of African Americans having a double consciousness.  Being both American and African American

Contemporary Sociological Theory • Structural/Functional Theories ▫ Examines both social structures and their functions.

▫ The dominant view is that if certain structures exist they provide a function.

• Manifest functions ▫ Positive consequences that are purposely brought about.

• Latent functions ▫ Unintended positive consequences.

• Dysfunctions ▫ Negatively affect the ability of a given system to survive.

Contemporary Sociological Theory • Structuralism ▫ Focuses on structures but is not concerned with their functions.

▫ Interested in the social impact of hidden or underlying structures (for example, gender relations).

▫ Value of products comes not from supply and demand but from the labor that goes into the products that come entirely from the workers.

▫ Was Marx a structuralist?

Contemporary Sociological Theory • Conflict Theory

▫ Focus is on what is negative about society.

▫ Society is held together by coercion.

▫ Ralph Dahrendorf: emphasizes the ever-present possibility of social change – authority resides not in individuals but in positions and various associations of people.

Contemporary Sociological Theory • Critical Theory ▫ Feminist Theory

 Is critical of the social situation facing women.

 Offers ideas on how women’s situations can be bettered.

 The majority of feminist scholars argue that gender differences are socially constructed (not biologically determined).

 Women face extraordinary problems related to gender inequality, so extraordinary solutions are necessary.

 Points to patriarchy (male dominance).

 Many argue that feminist theory generally reflects the experiences and perspectives of white women while ignoring those of women of color.

Contemporary Sociological Theory • Critical Theory ▫ Queer Theory

 Based on the idea that there are no fixed and stable identities that determine who we are.

 Advocates believe that modern Western culture cannot be understood without critiquing modern definitions of homosexuality and heterosexuality.

 The focus is not on homosexuality itself but the dynamics between heterosexuals and homosexuals.

 Some queer theorists posit that there are more than two genders, using the term queergender to connote a third gender.

 Others believe that it is possible to be pangender or identify as all genders.

Contemporary Sociological Theory • Critical Theory ▫ Critical Race and Racism

 Race matters globally and racism adversely affects people of color

 Argue that color blindness ignores the unique experiences of racial minorities and that color blindness is the new racism.

 Intersectionality is the idea that racism cannot be considered in isolation.  A poor black lesbian faces different challenges than a poor person, a black person, or

a lesbian

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies • Empiricism ▫ Sociologists use their senses to gather information in order to test it

through the scientific method

• The Scientific Method ▫ A structured way of finding answers about the world

▫ A systematic search attempting to find a thorough understanding of the world.

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies • Steps in the Scientific Method ▫ Uncover questions in need of answers.

▫ Review the relevant literature.

▫ Develop hypotheses (tentative statements about the relationship between two or more variables).

▫ Choose a research method.

▫ Collect data.

▫ Analyze the data

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies • Qualitative and Quantitative

• Qualitative Research ▫ A scientific method that does not require statistical methods for collecting

and reporting data.

▫ Observation and open-ended questions are two examples.

▫ Capture descriptive information

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies • Qualitative and Quantitative

• Quantitative Research ▫ Involves the analysis of numerical data typically obtained from the

administration of surveys and experiments.

▫ Can help us describe and understand observable social realities.  Descriptive statistics are used to compare trends over time.

 Inferential statistics rely on data from small groups to speculate on the behavior of larger groups.

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies • Observational Research

▫ The most common observational methods used by sociologists are

participant and nonparticipant observations and ethnography

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies • Observational Research

▫ What are some of the issues with observational research?

 Degree to which those being observed are aware that they are being observed.

 Degree to which the presence of the observer may affect those being observed.

 Degree to which the process is structured.

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies • Observational Research

▫ Participant and nonparticipant observation

 In participant observation the researcher plays a role in the group or setting

being observed.

 In nonparticipant observation the researcher plays little or no role in what is being observed.

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies • Observational Research

• Ethnography ▫ The creation of an account of what a group of people do and the way they

live.

▫ Entails much more intensive and lengthy periods of observation.

▫ Global ethnography: a type of ethnographic grounding in understanding globalization.

▫ Netnography is using the internet and social networking places and events as the evaluative space of study.

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies • Types of Instruments in social research

▫ Interviews

 Information is sought from participants who are asked a series of questions.

 Prestructured

 Unstructured

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies • Types of Instruments in social research

▫ Surveys

 Questionnaires that are self-administered, written sets of questions.

 Descriptive

 Explanatory

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies • Key Terms

▫ Population = The entire group of individuals or objects the researcher is

interested in.

▫ Sample = a sample is a representative portion of the overall population.

 Random

 Stratified

 Convenience

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies

• Experiments ▫ Involves the manipulation of one or more characteristics of an independent

variable in order to examine the effect of that manipulation.

▫ So what are variables?  Two kinds

 Independent variable

 The condition being manipulated

 Dependent variable

 The result of the manipulation

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies

• Experiments

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies

• Experiments ▫ Types of experiments

 Laboratory

 Controlled setting or other simulated environment

 Lots of control over the variables

 Natural  A natural setting in which to conduct an experiment

 Very little control of the variables

 Field  At least some control over the participants and variables

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies

• Experiments ▫ Reliability

 Involves the degree to which a given measure produces the same results time after time.

 Concern is with consistency.

▫ Validity  Involves whether a researcher is measuring what he/she claims to be.

 Concern is with accuracy

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies

• Research Ethics ▫ Ethics is concerned with issues of right and wrong, the choices that people

make, and how they justify them.

▫ Research ethics is a balance of potential knowledge – the goal is to increase knowledge – and potential harm – the goal is to minimize or eliminate harm.

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies • Research Ethics

▫ Physical and Psychological Harm

 Physical harm can be an unintended consequence of sociological research.  Psychological harm can be caused merely by asking people about sensitive

issues.

▫ Illegal Acts  A researcher might witness or even become entangled in illegal acts during the

course of his/her research.

▫ Violation of Trust  Possibility of inadvertently divulging the identity of respondents even though

they were promised anonymity or confidentiality.

The Scientific Method in Sociological Studies

• Objectivity ▫ Objectivity refers to suppressing personal bias and/or value judgments from

entering research.  Value-free sociology refers to the ability of the researcher to prevent all personal

values from impacting all phases of the research process.